Boys in the Tower
by Writer25
Summary: It's been years since since Joe's become a time page but he hasn't used the book in more than a year. But when he continually gets visions of two boys trapped in a tower will he overcome his shadowed and guilty past in order to warp back and time in rescue them?
1. Chapter 1

The rain beat steadily against the window pane making the glass vibrate. A sudden gale made the window shudder loudly, startling Joe out of a weird dream. Though it wasn't so much of a dream as it was a series of weird images. A girl in all white sitting under a tree, fire and thick black smoke swirling in the air, two young boys, a winding stair case and roses. Lots of red and white roses.

With a sigh Joe rubbed his eyes, looked out at the pouring rain and glanced at his clock. 7:13 a.m. Might as well get up for school.

"Man," Joe mumbled pulling on some pants. "Will it ever stop raining?"

New York rains were often like this; a light drizzle at noon and an hour later heavy down pour that lasted until the next day or so. This rain had been going on for three days straight and it was starting to drive Joe nuts. Neither Sam nor Fred (his two best friends in the world) had felt like coming over during this down pour so it was school, homework, t.v., dinner, and then bed for him.

Yawning, Joe shuffled into the bathroom and scrutinized his face in the mirror. From ten to fourteen his face hadn't changed all that much except that now his face was just a little longer and his three year stint with braces was finally over. Speaking of which he quickly removed his night retainer and stowed them out of sight. Before he went down stairs though, he stopped in Anna's room to check in her like he did every morning for the past year. She was still asleep, clutching one of her stuffed toys. He was just about to leave when she made a whimpering sound as if she was having a nightmare. Joe sighed sadly and leaned down to gently caress her forehead, whispering soothing words. Her whimpers stopped almost immediately and she relaxed back into easy slumber. Joe pulled his hand away revealing a small pink scar that ran across her temple and cut through her eyebrow. Joe swallowed the familiar lump of guilt in his throat and quietly backed out of her room.

After he finished getting his stuff together he grabbed a quick breakfast and headed out the door towards the bus stop for another long dreary day of Junior High.

The entire hallway was slick with mud and rain water as students trekked into the school. As usual Sam was already waiting at their shared locker looking impatiently at his watch.

"Sam," Joe sighed and rolled his eyes. "Relax. It's only 7:53, class doesn't start for another ten minutes."

Sam too hadn't change in the last few years. He was still easily irritable, still high strung, and easily excitable. As Joe exchanged out books and homework folders Sam rocked his head back and forth on his shoulders trying to ease out the tension no doubt.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "But you know we have a test first thing right?"

"Yeah and we both know that you're gonna ace it." Joe chuckled.

"Yeah, when doesn't he? " A third voice put in.

Fred suddenly appeared behind Sam and wrapped a muscular arm around his shoulders pulling him into a playful head lock.

"Ow! Fred! You smell like sweat socks and baloney!" Sam yelled but when Fred finally released him he was smiling.

The warning bell rang just then and all they rushed into first period English together. As they headed to their usual desk Joe noticed a group of giggling girls pushing on of their friends toward Fred who handed him a note. Needless to say, he and Sam were snickering by the time they reached their seats.

"What?" Fred said defensively blushing bright red. "It's not my fault they keep giving me these 'I like you' notes."

"You're the one who wanted to join the baseball _and _the football team." Sam said smugly. "You know how girls get over jocks."

"Yeah whatever." Fred grumbled crumpling the note.

Joe chuckled but then clutched at his head as a sudden head ache came over him.

"Hey, you alright?" Sam asked in concern.

"Yeah," Joe straightened up as the headache subsided.

"Are you sure?" Fred eyed him suspiciously. "Ever since you stopped using The Book last year-"

"You know exactly why I stopped using it." Joe said so sharply that both Fred and Sam blinked in surprise.

Joe sighed and rubbed his sore eyes. "Sorry."

Sam sympathetically laid a hand on his shoulder and Fred nodded in understanding. A year ago they had made a pact to never use The Book again and unlike the many other times they made this promise, this time they made sure to keep it. For very good reasons. Before Joe could dwell on it though, the final bell rang and mercifully the teacher began class giving Joe a distraction from his thoughts.

**A/N- Big thanks to A.I.T and Lottessblossom for starting me back up on my first ever fandom Time Warp Trio. I've been wanting to get back to this for a while but I never did. If there are any fans still in hiding dont be shy to drop a review or two. **


	2. Chapter 2

The rain continued beating on the windows acting as a metronome to the teacher's long drawling lecture. Joe scribbled down notes in his notebook, not paying that much attention. He was in third period Biology waiting eagerly for the lunch bell to ring. When it finally did he rushed to the cafeteria to meet Fred and Sam.

"How was bio?" Fred asked his mouth full of food as per usual.

Joe groaned and scratched the back of his neck. "Can you believe I had a pop quiz today?"

"So how'd you do?"

"Did you study for it?" Sam asked.

"Sam," Fred rolled his eyes. "It was a pop quiz. You know, a surprise?"

"Yeah, well if you guys actually studied during our study sessions instead of playing video games then maybe it wouldn't be so much of a surprise." He mumbled snidely.

"Well _excuse _me for actually having a life." Fred rolled his eyes annoyed.

Joe just chuckled and shook his head. Now that he no longer used The Book and swore off magic altogether, his life would be completely boring. A hush fell over the cafeteria as every one listened to the constant rattling of the steady rain slowed down and finally stopped. A cheer went up through and cafeteria and the conversation doubled excitedly.

"So now that it finally stopped raining," Fred leaned forward excitedly. "You guys wanna play some ball in the park?"

Joe nodded eagerly but Sam frowned and adjusted his glasses.

"Fred, it had been raining for three days straight. Don't you think that the ground will be a little water logged?"

"Pfft," Fred rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "What's a little mud and wet grass? We're men, we can take it."

"Yeah, Sam," Joe smiled. "It's just a little water."

Sam groaned and looked like he was going to argue more when there was a sudden loud crash and excited yelling. All three boys jumped up and craned their necks to see what the commotion was about. A few tables over a one of the windows had broken and a white duck was flailing around frantically all over the tables and the floor. Students and teachers were surrounding it trying to grab it, but all that seemed to do was frighten the poor thing even more. The duck evading every pair of hands that grabbed for it and a few times it managed to break free of everyone all together. It was then that Joe saw that it was spotted with blood on one side of its body.

The duck flailed around on the floor for a few moments, spotting the floor with blood, before taking off toward their table.

"Ah! I'm allergic to feathers!" Sam cried out diving behind Fred.

Joe closed his eyes and held out his arms defensively and the duck hit him full force sending him backwards.

"Oof!" he landed hard on his rear end and was surprised to feel a weight settle into his arms. Slowly, he cracked one eye open, half expecting and half fearing that the duck had broken its neck and was laying dead in his arms.

Strangely though, he found it staring up at him instead with an almost thoughtful look in it's eyes. Joe suddenly realized that his hand was touching something sharp and his hand was warm, wet, and sticky. He drew his hand away from it's right wing he found that it was smeared with blood. Joe shuddered in disgust but gingerly felt around it's wing for the wound. He was relieved to find the wound wasn't very big and promptly removed the shard of glass embedded right below its wing. He surprised that that duck was being so calm after thrashing around only a few minutes ago and still staring at him. It flapped it's wings gently and trembled in its hands.

"Uh... good duck?"

Joe sat unsure until the teacher came and gently took the duck away who started to flail and quack manically again.

"Well that was weird." Fred mumbled helping him stand.

"Yeah," Joe nodded. "Poor duck must have gotten lost during the storm."

"You better wash that blood off a.s.a.p." Sam put in. "Who know what kind of disease ducks carry?"

Joe nodded in agreement and headed off into the bathroom before next class began. The blood from the duck washed away easily enough, but once his hands were clean he noticed a small, shallow cut on the heel of his palm. He was debating whether he not he would need a tetanus shot when another searing headache caught him off guard.

Again, strange images went through his mind; a sword falling to the ground, iron bars looking out onto the river, a door creaking open, and the same girl in the same white dress dangling her feet in the river. Joe rushed into the stall and retched into the toilet as he was slammed with a wave of nausea. He mentally cursed the day he ever opened that stupid book. After his stomach finally settled he cleared his mind and decided to stop by the nurse's office before his next class started.

The students in each class were jittery, eager to get the rest of the day over with in order to finally be able to go outside without fear of drowning. Unlike Fred and Sam who each had something to do after school, Joe was among the first wave of students to practically flee the building. He paused though once he reached Anna's school, debating whether or not to stay for a few minutes and walk her home. For the first six months since it happened he couldn't stand to be away from her for longer than he had to, but she insisted that she was okay so little by little he learned to give her space again.

Joe sighed decided to go ahead home so he could change, grab a bite to eat and then head to the park to meet Fred and Sam. When he got there he realized that, as always, Sam was right. The grass was definitely water logged with mud puddles everywhere. A few people were walking their dogs on the walkways and a few of the younger kids were splashing in the mud, but that was about it. Joe walked around looking for the least messy spot when he saw a flurry of white out of the corner of his eye. He turned just in time for the same duck as earlier to fly straight into his arms.

"Hey, hey," he laughed trying to keep himself from falling over. "Haha, I know I helped you out by pulling that glass out, but are you following me?"

_Actually yes, I am. _A voice said in his head.

Joe screamed and dropped the duck in a panic. His heart started beating in a panic and a cold sweat broke out against his forehead.

"I didn't hear that." He said shakily. "I didn't hear a voice talking in my head."

_It wasn't just a voice, _the voice repeated. _It was my voice. _

Joe looked down in horror and saw the duck staring at him intently. Joe slowly shook his head back and forth finding it hard to breath. The duck wasn't talking, the duck couldn't be talking. But even as he watched a soft white light started to emanate from it until it was nothing but light. The light then grew and take form until a girl stood before him instead. She wore an all white dress and had a yellow blond braid that hung neatly between her shoulder blades. The girl gave him a breath taking smile before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

"I've finally found you Warp Wizard." She whispered softly.

At the mere mention of those words Joe immediately felt guilt welling up in the back of his throat and he roughly pushed the girl away.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said angrily and started to walk away.

"But, but," the girl stammered grabbed his arm desperately. "I called to you, and you called to me."

"I didn't call anyone!"

"Yes you did!" she cried out tears forming in her light blue eyes. "We called to each other and I finally found you, Warp Wizard!"

Joe could feel himself about to yell when he looked up and saw that a couple walking their dog had stopped to stare at them. He looked down to see her desperately wringing her hands together with tears streaming down her face and his own clenched fist. Great, he probably looked like an abusive boyfriend or something.

He groaned in frustration and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her away from the couple's stern gaze. They walked until they reached a bench and he begged her to stop crying.

"Look," he sighed once she had dried her face. "There has obviously been a really big misunderstanding. I'm not the person you're looking for. I'm not a Warp Wizard or whatever you call it and I didn't call to you or anyone."

The girl stared at him intently and then closed her eyes. _If you aren't the Warp Wizard then how did you here me when I first spoke to you like this?_

Despite himself Joe cried out in fear and leaned away from her.

"Stop that!" He hissed angrily making her flinch.

"But that's how the Warp Wizard and I always spoke," the girl defended herself. "For centuries the Warp Wizard and I have always spoke like this when we wanted no one else to hear what we are saying."

"But I'm not this Warp Wizard or whatever," Joe said through clenched teeth starting to lose his temper again. "You have the wrong guy."

The girl shook her head frantically and looked like she was about to cry again when Joe noticed the last thing he wanted to see at that moment. Sam and Fred walking directly towards them.

"Quick," he said pulling her up. "You have to get out of here now."

"But, I-"

"Um Hey," Fred greeted him casting a confused look at the girl. "Who's this?"

"No one." Joe said quickly. "I just gave her directions and she was _just leaving_."

"But I can't leave yet," She protested. "Not when I just found you."

"Just found you," now Sam was looking at Joe like he was the crazy one. "What she talking about?"

"Nothing."

"It's not nothing! Its important that you remember."

"Remember what?"

"Nothing! Not a single thing, okay."

"But you are the Warp Wizard! I know you are!"

"Ha ha, Warp Wizard?" Fred's confusion turned into nervousness. "What the heck is that supposed to be? Some comic book character? Sam have you ever heard of a Warp Wizard?"

Sam shook his head just as nervous as Fred. "Um, um, no. Never heard of it."

"But I can prove it!" the girl stomped her foot angrily.

Before any of them could say anything she closed her eyes and held out her arms. The wind picked up suddenly and an all too familiar faint green mist began to swirl around them. The lights headed directly towards her out stretched arms. All three boys stared in horror as The Book manifested itself into her arms with a flash of green light.

"You see?" the girl whispered faintly beginning to sway. "I could only call The Book when I'm around you, Warp...Wizard..."

Joe caught her as she fell, still cradling The Book in her arms. Sam and Fred hovered over them asking what should they do and if they should call anyone, but their voices seemed muffled and far away. Joe stared at The Book as images started to flash before his eyes. Two young boys, a winding stair case, red and white rose, smoke and fire, a sword, and a river. Before he could stop himself he reached out to touch The Book.

"Joe NO!" Sam yelled but it was too late.

As soon as he laid his land on it, green smoke starting boring from The Book and in less than a second they were gone.

**A/N- Whoo! Another chapter already :) If you can't already tell I've been wanting to write this for a really long time now. Anyways review and tell me what you think. **


	3. Chapter 3

They landed on a grassy field in between a church and a river bank. The wishy-washy nauseous feeling that always came with warping felt a thousand times worse after not having experiencing it for so long. Joe pushed the girl, who was still unconscious off of him, while Sam stumbled away to vomit the remains of his lunch.

"Ugh," Fred groaned trying to fix his hat. "Well_ that _was horrible."

"Here," Joe grunted with his arms wrapped around the girl. "Help me get her under that tree while we figure out what to do."

Fred rolled his eyes. "Sure, I'll grab her feet, you grab her shoulders."

Together they hoisted her up and gently set her under the nearby oak tree. Sam trudged towards them looking more than a little irritated and Joe could see that one vain in his forehead was throbbing.

"Great," he mumbled angrily. "Glad that she stayed asleep during our little trip. I would hate for her to wake up through it."

"Who the heck is she anyway?" Fred asked suspiciously.

"I don't know," Joe sighed in exasperation. "Just showed up and started rambling about me being the Warp Wizard!"

"But she was able to call up The Book." Fred said. "How the heck could she do that?"

"Trust me I think it's weird too," Joe said defensively. "I was just in the park waiting for you guys when that duck from earlier flies at me, transforms into a girl, and started babbling, crying and telling me that she's been calling for me and..."

Joe trailed off when he saw that Sam and Fred were looking at him like he was insane. He groaned in frustration and looked over at the still sleeping girl. For someone who had passed out she looked strangely peaceful and serene, almost as if she were sleeping. Joe took a sharp intake of breath when he realized she looked just like the girl in white from his dreams. He looked away quickly, but of course they had already noticed.

"Aha!" Sam scrutinized his face. "So you do know her."

"Okay, okay. So maybe I had a dream about her. So what?"

When Fred and Sam gave him another weird look he rushed over to the girl's side and gently tried to wake her.

"Hey," he whispered urgently. "Hey wake up, you owe me an explanation."

"Hmm?" The girl sighed and slowly opened her eyes. She sat up straighter and gave him a little bow. "Yes, Warp Wizard? I am at your service."

"Okay, first of all, stop calling me the Warp Wizard," Joe said irritably. "And second of all I need you to do that little trick you did and call up The Book so we can warp back home."

"Um," the girl pressed her lips together and looked away. "I can't."

"You can't!? What do you mean you can't!?" Sam shrieked.

She shrugged and looked down into her lap. "I used too much energy calling it and calling the Warp Wizard. I'm still a little weak. I'm sorry."

"Great," Sam jumped up and walked away. "That's just great."

"I'm sorry, Warp Wizard." She said looking at at Joe.

"Please stop calling me that." Joe groaned.

"He doesn't like to be called that." Fred whispered to her. "Ever since-"

"Fred..." Joe warned giving him a look.

Sam rushed over to them just then with a slightly panicked look on his face. "Hey guys I think I know where and when we are."

"Well spill it," Fred said. "You look like you're about to burst. Let's hear what we're dealing with."

"Okay, so I went up to that sanctuary up there and I noticed that the grave stones were written in English and a lot of the dates range between 1202 and 1483 and then I noticed that most of the 1200s graves stones were close to decay as opposed to the 1483 ones that..."

"Saaam," Fred said. "Just get to the point. Just where the heck are we?"

Sam sighed and looked miffed at the interruption. "England 1483. We're in England 1483 okay."

"Sooo," Joe drawled out. "Were there any wars or battles in 1483 that we should know about?"

"Um, well..."

"You there!" A voice called out suddenly. "You children! What are you four doing outside the sanctuary walls?"

An old man in black robes holding a pair of shears came striding towards them. They three boys jumped up ready to make a run for it, but the girl stood slowly and bowed to the man.

"My apologies, sir." She said humbly. "My lord and his friends were just came from afternoon mass and stopped to enjoy the view of the river."

The old man smiled down at her and patted her on the head. "Bless you sweet child, but these are dangerous times and I thought that you were with the dowager queen."

"Dowager queen?" Sam piped up. "Would that happen to be Queen Elizabeth Woodville?"

"Yes," the man nodded. "But please, I do insist that you come inside now. It'll be dark in a few short hours and you can stay the night if you need to."

"Thanks," Joe said as everyone followed him inside. "By the way my name's Joe, that's Fred and Sam, and she's..."

"Fina." the girl whispered demurely. "His humble servant."

Joe shot her a dirty look while Sam and Fred snickered.

"And I am Bishop Marcus," the priest nodded towards to separate rooms. "You three boys will be able to stay in this room while your servant will sleep in the adjoining room. Now if you'll excuse me I have some manuscripts translate. Dinner will be ready soon."

"She's not my-" Joe started to call after him. "Oh forget it."

"Look," Joe turned Fina. "How long will it be before you can call up The Book again so that we can get out of here?"

"Well," she rocked back and forth on her heels. "I supposed if I skip dinner and meditate then I could be at strength early tomorrow morning, Warp Wizard."

Joe sighed. "Fine. But after dinner I want to talk to you because you're confused and I'm not the Warp Wizard you're looking for."

Dinner was less than ideal; some kinda gray stew with bits of chicken and carrot in it, two dry, crumbling biscuits, and half of a browning apple. Sam quietly explained that there had been food shortages because of some flower war or something, but Joe was distracted with guilt for forcing... whatever her name was, for skipping dinner. Before the servants came to clear the table he wrapped the biscuits and the apple in a napkin and left to meet her.

The moon shone brightly illuminating everything especially her, sitting on an old wharf dangling her feet in the water. Again Joe had to catch his breath, another vision had come true and it was starting to freak him out a bit. He took a deep breath to calm his frayed nerves and plopped down next to her.

"Here," He said handing her the food he saved for her.

"Thank you, Warp Wizard." She bowed and smiled at him. "I finished meditating like you told me to."

"I also thought I told you to stop calling me, Warp Wizard." Joe said irritably. "My name is Joe okay? Just call me Joe."

"Warp Wizard Joe then?"

"No just Joe!" He snapped. "Stop calling me the Warp Wizard, okay!?"

Fina flinched and tears began to well up in her eyes and Joe instantly felt guilty.

"Look," Joe relented and patted her shoulder awkwardly. "I'm sorry alright. I'll try to be a little nicer to you, I'm just upset because I haven't used that stupid book in a year and for very good reason too."

"But why War- I mean, Joe?" Fina looked up at him in confusion. "It's who you are. We called to each other because you're meant to be the Warp Wizard and I'm meant to be the Warp Wizard's assistant."

Joe cleared his throat, feeling that all too familiar lump of guilt in his throat. "Even though I'd rather not talk about it in detail, but let's just say that I made a mistake a year ago that serious hurt my little sister and... someone else."

Fina blinked and opened her mouth to say something but then shut it again. "Oh."

"So," Joe sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry that I'm not the person you're looking for, but when we get back we're gonna have to go our separate ways and..."

"But, Um," Fina interrupted laying a hand on his arm. "There's a slight problem with that. We're already bound together in a contract."

"What?"

"Bound. In a magic contract."

Fina pulled up her sleeve to reveal a small cut on the underside of her arm. She then grabbed Joe's hand with the shallow cut on it. Joe felt his jaw drop as he watched both cuts glow softly when they were in close proximity to each other.

"Wha?" he gasped. "What the heck did you do?"

"I'm sorry," Fina smiled. "But when you pulled that glass from my wing-"

"I accidentally cut my own hand-"

"Your blood touched my blood-"

"And now we're in some magic contract!?" Joe snatched his hand back angrily. "Fina!"

"What?" Fina bit her lip and shrugged. "It was an accident. I must have cut it when I flew through that window to find you."

"Well, you were wrong, now reverse the contract!"

"I...can't."

"Why not!?"

"Because Joe," Fina smiled and grabbed his hand. "Even though you said you don't want to be the Warp Wizard... I can only be bonded in a contract with the Warp Wizard. And its one of the few contracts that can't be reversed."

Joe's shoulders sagged and he buried his face in his hands.

"You know what's funny," Fina said gently laying a hand on his shoulder. "This was exactly how the old Warp Wizard reacted when I told him when we made our contract."

Despite himself Joe felt his old curiosity spark up again. "The old Warp Wizard?"

"Mmhm," she nodded. "He was about twenty something when we first met and had just accidentally caused a war..."

"He caused a war!?" Joe's jaw dropped in shock. "Which one?"

"War of 1812," Fina rolled her eyes and sighed. "He didn't understand politics, I didn't understand politics, he made one little suggestion to Napoleon and then the next thing you know France, Britain, and America were at war."

"Yeah," Joe sighed. "But at least he didn't- never mind. Just forget it."

"Joe everyone makes mistakes." Fina leaned against his shoulder. "I made the mistake of not always being by the Warp Wizard's side and the next thing I knew...he was... gone."

Joe glanced down at her and saw a tear escape from her eyes making him feel extremely awkward. He carefully pulled himself away from her and patted her shoulder weakly. He really _really _ wanted to know exactly what happened to the old warp wizard, but even he could tell that now wasn't the time.

"Um, excuse me? Lovebirds?" A voice said behind them, making them jump.

Joe turned around to see Fred walking towards them with a large smirk on his face. "Bishop Marcus sent me to find you guys and bring you inside. They're going to lock up for the night to keep thieves away or something."

"Uh, coming, coming." Joe felt his face heating up. "And we're not love birds _Fred._"

"Uh, huh," Fred rolled his eyes. "Then how come you two were cuddling?"

"I was mere explaining to him what my purpose was." Fina explained with a small bow.

They reached the room that Joe was sharing with Fred and Sam and closed the door behind them so they could talk about what to do next. Fina stood near the door folding her hands politely.

"There you two are." Sam said irritably. "So while you two were getting cozy did you figure out what we were going to do?"

"First of all we weren't getting cozy and second of all no. We didn't. I guess we'll just have to wait til tomorrow so she can call up The Book again."

Sam scoffed and flopped back against the pillows. "That is if we don't contract the plague by then."

"What about your visions, Warp Wizard Joe?" Fina spoke up suddenly.

"Ugh, Fina I told you it's just Joe," he sighed. "And what visions are you talking about?"

"Your visions," she shrugged. "Whenever you have visions it usually means something, you know, warp wizard related."

"Visions?" Sam sat up. "What visions?"

"I'm not the warp wizard and all of the visions were... fuzzy. At best. And none of them show where The Book is."

"Well what did they show?" Fred folded his arms impatiently. "Maybe there's a hint or something."

Joe sighed and threw his hands up in the air. "Okay fine, I'll tell you. Well there's _her _first of all-"

"-because you called to me."

"-_and _there are these two boys, a winding wooden staircase, red and white roses..."

"Wait a minute!" Sam interrupted. "Elizabeth Woodville had two young sons before fled into sanctuary in 1483 after Richard the third took the throne. Eventually both her sons were taken into the tower for protection."

"So I guess those are the two boys in Joe's vision." Fred said. "And the tower. What about the roses, Mr. History lesson?"

"The Lancasters and the Yorks I suppose." Sam said thoughtfully. "The War of the Roses had been going on for a while now."

"So what happened to the boys?" Fred asked.

"No one knows." Sam shrugged. "They disappeared. And no one knows what happened to them. Although historians have speculated that they were murdered by Richard III."

"That's so sad." Fina said quietly. "They must have been terrified."

Fred jumped and rubbed his hands together. "Well, that settles it then. Joe's Warp Wizard mission must be to rescue them, get The Book as a reward, and we just warp out of here."

"There is no Warp Wizard mission, Fred." Joe said irritably. "Because I'm not the warp wizard and we're not supposed to interfere with history remember?"

"But Sam said that no one actually knows what happened to them." Fred reasoned. "So that gives them plenty of leeway to rescue them before they get killed. Isn't that what the Warp Wizard does?"

"Fred..." Joe said between clenched teeth feeling one of his headaches come on.

"Joe seems tired," Fina placed a hand on Joe's shoulder. "Maybe should discuss this in the morning?"

Fred and Sam looked at each other and snickered.

"Oh, sure," Fred smirked. "Hey, why don't me and Sam go into the other room so you two can finish cuddling?"

"We weren't cuddling," Joe rolled his eyes. "And at least Fina isn't half as annoying as you two are right now."

"Ooo, first name basis." Sam laughed. "It must be getting serious."

Joe just groaned as his headache got worse and Fina pulled him into the adjoining room. He started to protest but she just shushed him, sat him on the bed, and got behind him. His headache was getting to the point where he started to see spots behind his eyes when he felt Fina's fingertips on his temples.

"Ssh," she shushed him gently when he started to move away. "I can feel your headache coming on."

Fina then began to gently, but firmly massage his temples and he felt his headache slowly dissipate.

"I'm sure you've already guessed that you aren't suffering ordinary headaches." She whispered. "Joe, the reason why you get such painful headaches is magical suppression. You're denying who you are and your body is reacting negatively."

"Look," Joe sighed. "After I hurt my baby sister I swore off all magic. Nothing, not even being Warp Wizard, was worth someone I love being hurt."

"But it's who you're supposed to be." Fina insisted. "I wouldn't have been able to contract with you if you didn't still hold that potential."

"But what if I mess up again and I-"

Fina tilted his head back so he could see her face. "No one said it was going to be easy, but I'll be by your side no matter what happens. It is what I am here for."

She gave him another broad smile before bouncing off of the bed and headed towards the door.

"Wait," Joe called after her. "Where'd you learn how to give massages like that?"

Fina looked down suddenly and Joe saw something flash in her eyes that he couldn't quite read.

"An old friend" She said quietly. "Good night Warp Wizard, Joe."

"I'm not the warp wizard...at least... not yet. I dunno." Joe mumbled. "Goodnight, Fina."

Fina flashed him another one of her gentle smiles before going into the other room. Joe chuckled when he heard Sam's embarrassed shriek followed by her equally embarrassed rapid fire apologies.

**A/N- man this has to have been the longest chapter of anything that I have ever written. Btw just in case you couldn't tell this story is completely disconnected from the other stories, kinda starting fresh in the spirit of TWT Revival. Anyways review and tell me what you think, especially if you don't think the boys are in character. Thanks for reading and support the revival! Don't be shy to post your own time warp trio fanfics**


	4. Chapter 4

Joe woke up sore and achy and wished to goodness that he had remained at home with his own cushy mattress. Pale sunlight filtered in through the bars covering his one window and he felt imprisoned. Imprisoned by this sanctuary, imprisoned by guilt, and imprisoned by this stupid magic destiny of his. He was only fourteen, he didn't need this drama in his life. He had a hard enough time passing biology.

He shook his head to clear it and creaked open the door of the adjoining room to see if Fred and Sam were up yet. They were both still snoring in the low brown cots on each side of the room and the girl Fina was nowhere to be seen. He heard a soft purring noise coming from under neath Fred's cot and a white cat squeezed out from it and rubbed up against his legs.

"Morning, Fina." He leaned down to scratch under her chin.

She morphed back into her human form and bowed to him. "Good morning, Warp Wizard Joe."

"Just, Joe," he sighed for the umpteenth time. "Fred. Sam. Wake up."

Sam groaned and sat up yawning. "Remind me to look for a good chiropractor when we get back to New York."

"Joe," Fina gently laid a hand on his arm. "Did you have any more visions last night?"

"Yeah, just one. A woman standing by a river holding a charm on a string." He shrugged.

"So I guess we should find her then?" Fred mumbled still half asleep.

"Great," Sam grumbled. "So we're going off of Joe's crazy dreams now? I remember the last time that worked perfectly."

Before he could get a chance to respond there was a frantic knocking on the door. Fina opened the door and Bishop Marcus rushed in.

"Please," he bowed and wiped his sweaty forehead. "I am sorry to disturb you so early in the morning but the dowager queen has demanded your presence. I am to escort you there immediately."

They dragged Fred out of bed and then followed the bishop down some dingy and dusty hallways until they came to a set of large doors. The room was twice as large as theirs combined, but was just as simple. A tall woman wearing a dark blue dress and a large conal headpiece with a lighter blue ribbon coming from it stood at the window and looked out towards the river.

"Thank you, Bishop." She said quietly. "You may go now."

The bishop bowed and backed out of the room leaving a heavy and awkward silence.

"Um, excuse me, I don't mean to interrupt your train of thought," Sam spoke up. "But would you happen to be Queen Elizabeth Woodville?"

The woman chuckled and turned to face them and Joe had to admit that she was one of the most beautiful woman that Joe had ever seen.

"That is right," She said. "But what else can I expect from such powerful magicians?"

"Ugh, do you mean us?" Fred asked.

The queen nodded. "Yes, I asked the river to send me help in rescuing my sons and the river has lead you four to me."

"And," Joe said cautiously. "Just what is it that you want us to do?"

"Two years ago my brother-in-law Richard took my youngest son into the tower to join his brother," She said with a set face. "And now that the lords insisted that Richard take the throne instead of my son, I fear for both of their lives."

"But I have one small hope remaining," She continued. "My spied have informed me that my oldest daughter's betrothed, Henry Tudor, has formed an army to invade and take back the throne that rightfully belongs to my son. Richard, always greedy, may try to kill my sons in the belief that it'll stop the army. And so I beg you to go infiltrate the tower and bring them out safely."

"And just _how_ are we supposed to do that?" Fred said a bit rudely.

"I believe," Fina cut in quickly. "That my master and his friends need a moment to discuss their plan of action."

The queen nodded and Joe pulled the others aside in a huddle.

"So," He said quietly. "What do you guys think we should do?"

"We need to let history take it's course or we can risk changing it for the worse," Sam said. "So I say we use Fina to call up The Book and warp out of here."

"But she's a queen and her son's the rightful king," Fred piped up. "So there could a major reward involved if we do this right. What do you think Joe? You're the Warp Wizard, that's what they're supposed to do right?"

"I'm not the Warp Wizard, Fred." Joe said tersely. "And I don't know what we should do. Sam has a point, but I feel kind of bad for her. She's just trying to keep her kids safe. What do you think, Fina?"

"I will support whatever decision you make, Joe." She said meekly. "But... I do feel sorry for the poor boys."

Joe closed his eyes and tried to think. One the one hand he could just leave all of this behind like he told himself he would a year ago, but then again he didn't want or need anymore guilt in his life for turning his back on a helpless...queen.

"Fina?" He asked. "Do _you _think I can do something like this?"

She smiled at him and looked him straight in the eyes. "Yes. You can."

Joe returned her smile, ignoring Fred and Sam's sniggering and eye rolling, and turned back to face the queen. "Queen Elizabeth. We're in."


	5. Chapter 5

They waited until the coast was clear and then snuck through a window that Queen Elizabeth said a York guard would leave unlocked for them.

"Tell me again," Fred grumbled scratching at his lace collar. "Why we have to wear these ridiculous outfits again."

"So we could blend in," Sam rolled his eyes. "Duh, Fred. Weren't you listening to the queen?"

"Right," Fred pressed his lips together. "Soooo remind me what she said again."

Sam rolled his eyes and sighed in impatience. "We're posing as squires hired as extra security for Richard III. So we're going to sneak through the tower when no one is watching, find the princes and get them out, and then get them safely to the queen. It's simple... despite the fact that no one else has seemed to do it before!"

"Well maybe we were the ones who were meant to do it." Joe said shushing him. "Now just calm down and let's see what we can figure out. How are you doing, Fina?"

There was a small shuffling noise from his inside shirt pocket and a small white mouse poked it's head out. _I'm okay, Joe. _She said in his head then ducked back inside.

"Good." Joe nodded. "Now let's go."

They walked into the room that the guards went into and found themselves among a crowd of richly dressed people standing around talking while musicians played music in the background. At the end of the room were two ornate thrones where a dark haired man sat surrounded by men holding up papers.

"That must be Richard III." Sam whispered to Joe who nodded.

"Right, let's split up, but try to stay away from him then." He whispered back.

No matter who else they tried to talk to though, however discreetly, everyone gave them a not so nice look and walked away.

"I don't get it," Joe mumbled to Fina after the last lady in waiting rolled her eyes and walked away. "I'm being subtle. But no one's even responding. I don't get it."

Fina started to poke her head out, but then suddenly gave a tremble of fear and disappeared back inside his shirt. Joe frowned in confusion and was about to ask what the matter was when he suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine.

"You know," A smoky voice suddenly said behind him making him jump. "Squires don't normally talk to ladies- in- waiting."

Joe spun around and came face to face with a pale girl around his age who seemed completely out of place among everyone else. Instead of wearing the bright colors that everyone else was wearing, she wore a low cut, deep black dress with blood red trimmings. She didn't wear a conal headpiece like the other ladies were, instead her ink black hair was in a pony tail thrown over her shoulder with a heavy bang covering the left side of her face. That wasn't what really made her seem out of place though. Even though she was smiling at him, Joe felt a sense of danger wash over him. Her smile grew at his obvious nervousness.

"What's the matter?" She chuckled. "Gone mute on me?"

"Um," Joe licked his lips. "N-no. I was just trying to start a little conversation. My name's Joe by the way."

"Well Joe," the girl said quietly placing a finger on his chest. "Just a little hint of advice; squires, like you, don't talk to your betters, like them."

"So," She leaned in close enough for her breathe to ghost across his face making him shiver. "I would gather your two friends over there and think of a new was to find out where those darling two little boys are."

Joe blinked and broke out of his intimidated state. "Wait, do you know where they are?"

The girl chuckled darkly and Joe felt the intimidation come right back. "Maybe. Maybe not. Why would you like to know?"

Before Joe could come up with an answer or decide whether or not he could trust her, Richard III stood up and gestured towards the girl to come to him.

"Gotta go, cutie." She winked as she walked away. "See you after dinner."

Joe waved weakly feeling his heart beat slow down a little. Fina shuffled around in his inner pocket clearly agitated. Joe signaled to the others so they could talk in private. Turns out Fred and Sam were having the same rotten luck that he was.

"This pointless," Sam sighed hopelessly. "No one's talking to us. They just roll their eyes and ignore us."

"Well, not all of us," Fred mumbled. "One of them wasn't too stuck up to talk to Joe."

"Really?" Sam brightened up considerably. "Well what did they say? Did they give you any information that might help us?"

"Not really," Joe said thoughtfully. "But she definitely knows something. And she said that she'd see me after dinner so I guess we could find her then and ask her..."

Fina gave a loud squeak from inside his shirt pocket, jumped out, and changed back into her human form.

"My apologies Joe," Fina bowed. "But... I feel that meeting with this girl may not be such a good idea."

"But she's the only lead we have." Joe tried to reason.

"Yes, but," Fina bit her lip and looked away. "We don't know anything about her and she seemed pretty dangerous and mysterious and..."

"Well we didn't know anything about you," Fred said. "And as a matter of fact, me and Sam still don't anything about you and we're talking to you."

"I told you I'm here to serve the Warp Wizard." Fina said stubbornly. "And I think we shouldn't trust that girl."

"Look," Joe said impatiently. "She may be the only lead we have. If we wanna save those boys, we don't have much of a choice. So we're going to try and find her after dinner and see what she knows. Okay?"

Fina bit her lip in anxiety but bowed low to Joe. "My apologies Warp Wizard."

"I'm not the- ugh!" Joe said angrily. "Come on, let's make ourselves scarce until dinner time and then we can find out whether or not that girl knows anything."


	6. Chapter 6

It took forever for night to fall and meanwhile the trio was kept busy with every little task and errand that people gave them. They agreed to meet in the library as soon as it got dark and they could slip away unnoticed. Joe plopped down on one of the chairs with a weary sigh and waited for the others to meet him. Every bone in his body seemed to ache and there was nothing that he wanted to do than to take a long hot shower and sleep for about a year. Two hands gently landed on his shoulders making him yelp and jump up in surprise.

"Fina!" He said angrily when he turned around and saw it was her. "Geez, you almost gave me a heart attack."

"My apologies, Joe." She bowed to him. "But you seemed weary. Would you like me to massage your shoulders?"

Joe felt himself grow uncomfortable and looked away. "Um, no that's okay. I-I'll be fine."

"Oh." Fina looked down sadly. "I am sorry that you don't find me useful. I'll do my best to find other ways to service you in the future.

Joe grimaced, he hated to make her feel unneeded (even though she kinda was) and his shoulders were killing him... so one little massage couldn't hurt. Could it?

"Um, hey," Joe said. "Maybe I could use a little massage. Do you mind?"

Fina automatically perked up and gave him a huge grin. "Of course I don't mind! Please, sit."

Joe sat back down and couldn't help but flinch a little when she laid her hands on his shoulders. The tension slowly eased from his shoulders though as Fina gentle kneaded them. The massage got even better though when her thumbs started making small circles on the back of his neck.

"Oh, man," Joe all but moaned. "This massage is amazing. Where did you learn how to do this?"

"Um... an old friend taught me. A really long time ago."

"Oh?" The corner of his lips turned up in a smirk. "That old friend wouldn't happen to be the last Warp Wizard you served would it?"

"N-n-no! Of course not!"

Joe laughed out loud because he could practically see her blushing.

"Well, well, well." Fred suddenly appeared in the doorway followed by Sam. "Look who we caught cuddling. Again."

Joe's cheeks flamed and he leaped from the chair nearly falling over. Fina merely bowed to Fred and calmly smiled at him.

"As I've said before I'm here to serve the Warp Wizard." She said. "But if you would like I can give you a massage as well."

Fred's smirk dissolved and it was his turn to look uncomfortable. "Uh, uh no. T-t-that's okay."

Sam smirked and it was his and Joe's turn to laugh at Fred.

"Come on," Joe said. "Let's go into the dinning all and try to find that girl so we can find the boys and get out of here."

Fina frowned but transformed back into a mouse and crawled into Joe's shirt pocket. By the time they arrived in the dinning hall, the higher class people were already wining, dining, and dancing while the lower class people crowded around a smaller table at the other end.

To no one's surprise Fred made a beeline for the banquet table. Joe rolled his eyes and scanned the room for the mystery girl.

"So what does this girl look like?" Sam asked squinting in the somewhat dim, candle lit room.

"Well, she looks like she's about our age. She's pale with black hair and the last time I saw her she was wearing a black and red dress."

"Um," Sam suddenly shrank back and pointed. "Do you mean like that?"

Joe looked to where he was pointing and sure enough saw the same girl walking towards them, but this time wearing a shorter black dress decorated with red ribbons and a large, gold and ruby brooch on the front. Joe felt Fina tremble inside of his shirt again and had to resist the urge to put his hand inside and pat her head. He nodded to Sam to go find Fred and stepped forward to meet her.

"Well, well, well." The girl smiled coming up to him. "If it isn't my new friend Joe."

"Um, hey." Joe waved weakly. "It's nice to see you again. I never caught your name."

"San-Li." She smiled looking. "Although..."

She stepped closer to him and her smile grew. "In this time time I am called Scarlett."

"In this time?" Joe's mouth fell open and he dropped his voice to a whisper. "Are you a time traveler to?"

Scarlett/San-Li gave that dark chuckle of hers that sent unpleasant chills down Joe's spine. "Maybe. Perhaps we could talk somewhere a little more... private?"

"Joe, you have to check out this buffet! It's completely loaded!" Fred said coming up behind them with Sam. "Oh? Is this the girl that we're supposed to meet?"

"Oh, that's right." Joe blinked and tried to shake off his chill. "San- um, I mean, Scarlett, these are my friends Fred and Sam. Mind if they come with us."

She seemed to barely register Fred and Sam's appearance but when Joe asked if they could come with them, Joe could have sworn he saw a flash of rage in her one exposed eye, but then she smiled and the look was gone.

"Of course," she smirked. "Follow me."

She lead them out through a side door and down a long narrow hallway. After taking a right at an intersection or two Scarlett walked into a drafty room, but then moved aside a wall tapestry to reveal a hidden door and went inside into another hallway. The further they walked the more the hallway began to curve and dip downwards until it was almost like a tunnel.

Joe was bursting with questions, mostly having to do with whether or not this San-Li was another time warper or if Scarlett was her real name and she was some sort of witch in this time period. He hoped it was the first option because he wasn't sure if he was equipped to deal with a witch. And did she know where the two princes were? If she did, why didn't Queen Elizabeth send her to rescue them?

"I'm sure you have a few questions." She said almost as if she could read his mind. "And I assure you they will be answered shortly."

"Do you really know where those two prince guys might be?" Fred asked.

Joe saw a look of irritation pass through San-Li's eyes again, but she smoothed her face with a smile. "Perhaps."

"And why would you tell us?" Sam asked suspiciously. "You just met us."

San-Li's irritation was a little more clear in her expression and this time Joe saw her fist clench inside of her sleeve. She answered Sam through gritted teeth. "I said I'd tell you soon didn't I?"

Joe exchanged a concerned look with Fred and Sam and no one said anything else. After a cold and awkward silence they came to a three way intersection, but this time San-Li stopped. She whirled around to face them and as she turned the large bang covering her left eye lifted a bit and Joe was more than a little shocked to see an eye patch underneath.

"So," she said folding her arms across her chest. "Right now you have three options. Straight ahead you'll find a secret exit out of the tower. Take that option you can go home without any danger to yourselves. In about fifteen minutes a group of York supporters will try to storm the tower and take out Richard's army and rescue the boys themselves."

"Hey wait a minute," Fred interrupted. "If there's already a rescue team coming then why did the queen send us to rescue her sons?"

"Fred!" Joe and Sam both elbowed him at the same time.

Instead of getting angry though, San-Li almost seemed glad that Fred asked and chuckled. "Oh, let's just say that someone who knew it was going to happen accidentally let it slip to Richard and got rewarded a lovely ruby brooch for her efforts."

"He gave you that?" Fred's jaw dropped and his eyes shone greedily. "Is that thing real?"

"Yep. Sure is blondie."

"Can we get back to our options, please?" Joe interrupted. "I have some questions for you and I need them answered."

"Of course," She said tersely. "To answer your question from earlier the two little boys you're looking for are in a room at the end of the hallway on the right. Though if you go that way you may not make it back to the exit until the middle of the battle. However, if you follow me to the left I'll answer all of your questions. It's your choice."

"Easy." Joe said confidently. "First we'll go left so you can answer my questions, then we'll go right to rescue the princes, and then we'll find our own way out and avoid the battle."

"Um, there might be one little hitch to your plan," San-Li smiled. "You see, in about ten minutes Richard is going to send some guards to kill those cute little boys and stuff their bodies under the stairs."

"Well," Joe said starting to get angry. "We'll just rescue the boys first and then we'll meet you."

"Sorry," She shrugged grinning even more. "I'm due to leave soon myself. Try again."

"Fine." Joe glared at her. "Sam. Fred. You two go right and rescue the boys and I'll go right with San-Li and we'll meet there."

San-Li grinned and without another word started to walk down the left hallway. Joe started to follow her until he felt Sam place a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure about this?" Sam whispered. "This girl seems dangerous. Maybe you shouldn't be alone with her?"

"Relax," Joe whispered back. "I have Fina with me and if we get into trouble she can call The Book, warp us out, and we can circle back for you guys."

Sam nodded uneasily and he and Fred went right while Joe followed San-Li to the left. _Joe!_ Fina peeped inside of his head. _Please! This is a really, really bad idea Joe! You can't trust this girl and I can answer any questions you might have. _Joe struggled to answer her back but was frustrated to find that he couldn't do that mind trick. So instead he had to settle for gently patting her head inside of his shirt.

"Ouch!" He cried out when she bit him.

"Problem?" San-Li asked looking at him strangely.

"Um, no. No problem here." Joe smiled embarrassed.

San-Li smiled back and they reached the room at the end of the hallway. Joe walked inside and San-Li closed the door with a loud click.

"Okay, Joe." She said. "Ask away."

"Okay," Joe nodded. "Are you another time warper?"

"You could say that." San-Li smirked and moved behind a changing screen.

Joe felt his cheeks burn as he watched her silhouette peel off her dress and pull something else on. He looked around the room as saw a long table filled with various treasures; brooches made of various gems and metals, jeweled swords, head pieces, golden combs, brushes, and shoes encrusted with diamonds.

"Like my little treasures?" San-Li asked. "You see, that's what I love most about traveling to 15th and 16th century England. The people here are just oh so ready to reward you with every little favor you do for them."

Joe gave a low whistle, even he had to be impressed. "You got all these just for doing favors?"

"Favors, information..." Joe heard her footsteps move behind him almost silently. "Murder..."

"What!?" Joe jumped back in terror and spun around to face her.

San-Li laughed at his expression and he deeply hoped that she was joking about the murder part. He also noticed that she had changed clothes. Instead of a dress she now wore dark blue pants with a tank top, black netting over her right arm and shoulder, and a red sash tied around her waist with a large metal buckle. Joe was even more disturbed to she that she also had a sword strapped to her back.

With a large grin on her face she walked towards the table and Joe moved around her, too afraid to turn his back on her. She leaned against the table and looked at him with an amused expression.

"What?" She asked. "No more questions?"

"W-why are you helping us find the boys if you told Richard about the rescue party?" He asked.

"To get the brooch, duh." San-Li shrugged. "Believe it or not, even though these items seem priceless, individually they don't sell for much on the black market. But sold as a set they can fetch me a nifty catch."

"Black market?" Joe repeated weakly. He was beginning to wish he had listened to Sam and Fina and not have gone with San-Li.

"Mm hm," San-Li nodded, took off the metal buckle, and flipped it open. Inside shone a dark red jewel. She pointed it at the treasures and one by one they were enveloped in an inky black mist and vanished.

"Like it?" She smiled at his astonished face. "First thing I bought on the black market. I use it to transport my findings and myself."

She put the buckle back onto the sash, was enveloped into her own black mist, and reappeared right behind Joe. "Next question, please."

Joe jumped and turned to face her again. "Yeah. Should I consider you a friend or an enemy."

San-Li gave a look of surprise and laughed in his face. "Depends. Can you do me a little favor?"

Joe pursed his lips together. "What kinds of favor?"

San-Li reached under the table and pulled out a small wooden chess covered in weird designs. With a smile she handed it to him and examined her dark red nails.

"I was just wondering if you wouldn't mind opening the box for me and pulling out what's inside?" She asked him. "Richard gave it to me but those symbols craved on to it prevent me from opening it myself."

As soon as he touched the chest Joe's calm began to tingle and he felt deep down that something wasn't right. His instinct told him to take the chest and run, but his curiosity got the best of him. Fina was practically screaming for him to run in his head but with trembling fingers he couldn't resist opening the chest and pulling the item out. Even before he tore off the gold wrapping he knew what it was.

"The Book!?" Joe gasped in astonishment. "Wha- How?"

"Like I said Richard gave it to me," San-Li's grin grew more predatory. "And I've been looking for it for a while now. So if you don't mind just handing it over to me..."

"No!" Joe exclaimed. "There's no way I'm giving it to you."

The next thing he knew he heard the sharp _shing_ of her sword and before he could even register movement, San-Li had grabbed the front of his shirt, pulled him close, and held the blade a hair's breath away from his neck. She pressed the sword a little closer and he felt a warm trickle of blood run down his neck.

"I don't think you heard me Joe," She whispered with a small vicious smile. "Give me The Book, Warp Wizard."

**A/N- Longest chapter ever and one of my favorites. Review and don't be shy to tell me what you think of the new, darker San-Li. Thanks for reading. **


	7. Chapter 7

Joe stood frozen in terror too afraid to breathe or even think of calling for help. He could smell the coppery scent of his own blood as San-Li's sword lightly cut into his neck. A million concerns ran through his mind, most of all being the fact that someone else was looking for The Book who wasn't his evil uncle Jack and Joe thought problem had been solved years ago when he...

"Oh, Joseph," San-Li said impatiently through gritted teeth. "Would you mind day dreaming some other time? I don't have all day."

"N-no!" Joe stammered. "There's no way I'm going to hand over something this powerful to someone like you!"

He flinched expecting her to explode in anger, but instead he was surprised to hear her laugh.

"That's fine." She said pleasantly. "I guess I'll just have to take it from your corpse then."

With another insane and malicious grin San-Li reared back her sword hand to bring it down on his neck when Fina poked her head out of his shirt and bit San-Li on the hand that was holding him.

"Aaaahhh!" San-Li screamed and fell backwards, letting go of both Joe and her sword.

Fina transformed back into a human, grabbed Joe's hand and pulled him out of the room.

"I told you trusting her was a back idea." She said as they ran down the hall. "She's a notorious time pirate. She travels through time either stealing or tricking people into giving her treasures for her to sell on the black market."

"Well why didn't you tell me this earlier!?" Joe shrieked. "She nearly took my head of with her sword. I think I'm still bleeding!"

"She hurt you!?" she gasped and spun around to look at him and they both collided into someone running from the opposite direction.

They all landed in a heap and when he stood up he realized they had run straight into Fred, Sam, and two boys that Joe didn't recognize, but figured that they must be the princes that they were supposed to be rescuing.

"Joe," Fred said jumping up. "We got the princes. Let's use The Book and warp the heck out of here."

"Uh, right." Joe opened and closed The Book hoping for the green mist to start pouring out, but nothing happened. "Oh, no not now."

"Why is it not working?" Sam said starting to panic. "And why is your neck bleeding?"

"Warp Wiiiiiizard!" An enraged voice screamed almost making the hallway tremble.

"Oh no." Joe felt the blood quickly drain from his face. "Quick! We need to find a place to hide."

"Who the heck is that?" Sam asked looking just as pale as Joe felt.

"I'll explain later. For now, we have to-"

"JOSEEEEEPH!"

"Hide!"

Suddenly, one of the older of the princes spoke up. "I know a secret passage we can take."

The prince moved aside one of the tapestries one the wall to reveal a low wooden door. He opened it to reveal a low, dark tunnel. At first Sam refused to go inside, but after hearing another one of San-Li's shrieks he quickly changed his mind. The older prince led the way, followed by his younger brother, then Sam, Fred, Joe, and finally Fina who closed the door behind them leaving them in utter darkness.

"So Prince Ed," Joe heard Fred grunt. "If you knew about this secret passage, how come you guys didn't use it to escape earlier?"

"Well, as you and Sir Sam saw when you came to rescue us, my brother and I are always kept under strict surveillance." He answered. "It's a good thing my mother disguised you as squires or else those guards would have never left you with us."

"You know what I really want to know," Sam sighed starting to become winded from crawling. "Is who was that yelling and how did they know about you being a Warp Wizard, Joe?"

"A wizard?" Edward's younger brother piped up. "A real one? With magic powers and stuff?"

"Well actually-"

"It's a lot cooler than that." Fred interrupted excitedly. "Joe gets to travel back and forth in time anytime he wants."

"That's not quite-"

"Time travel?" Prince Edward said wistfully. "That sounds amazing. Is it possible for you to change history and say prevent this war that's lasted since my granfather's time?"

"Not really, I-"

"Yeah it's possible." Sam interrupted. "But as the Warp Wizard Joe has to be responsible about time travel and changing history."

They came to the end of the tunnel and stood in a small, low ceiling room dimly lit with torches and a small wooden door at the end.

Joe grit his teeth in annoyance. "You guys stop. I'm not the Warp Wizard."

"Well not anymore." Fred waved his hand dismissively. "But with our girl Fina here we'll get you back to Warp Wizard status in no time."

"Fred." Joe seethed in frustration. "I-"

"Here, Warp Wizard." Fina said gently. "Let me take care of your neck injury."

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT!?"

Joe yelled at her without meaning to and saw her face crumble. She bowed low to him and walked away but that didn't stop them from seeing a tear roll down her face. The two princes looked away embarrassed at his outburst, Sam shook his head disappointingly, and Fred looked like he was about to punch him in the face.

"What the heck Joe!?" Fred yelled at him. "You didn't have to yell at her like that. I told you we would help you became the Warp Wizard again."

"Again?" Joe struggled not to tell again. "I was never the Warp Wizard in the first place."

Fred frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about? You fought that showdown with Mad Jack and won and that made you the Warp Wizard remember?"

"No Fred it didn't." Joe unclenched his fists and buried his face in his hands. "Even after killing my uncle and almost getting my baby sister killed in the process Jodie said I still wasn't the Warp Wizard yet and she still couldn't know when I would be."

Fred and Sam both stared at him in shock.

"After all that," Sam whispered. "We all risked our lives and you still didn't become Warp Wizard?"

"No," Joe mumbled depressed. "Why do you think I stopped talking to Uncle Joe and Jodie?"

"Oh what a shame," A dark voice rang out of nowhere. "And now it looks like you might never live long enough to ever become one."

A rippling shadow appeared in the air and San-Li appeared in it. She landed on the ground almost soundlessly and pointed her sword at them. "Now if you don't mind. I'll take that book if you don't mind."

Out the shadows a white lioness streaked from the other side of the room and pounced on San-Li. She fended off its claws and teeth with her sword but was pinned to the ground. San-Li growled in frustration, but then got her foot under the lioness's stomach and heaved her off with a kick.

Fina landed hard on her side but then transformed into a rhino and charged into San-Li. San-Li though merely lept on top of her, used her as leverage to jump off and leap at Joe with her sword raised. Joe screamed but then dodged to the side so the only thing her sword made contact with was the floor. She didn't waste anytime though and swiped her sword sideways still aiming for him, succeeding in cutting of his lace collar.

"Joe!" he heard Sam yell. "Quick this way!"

Joe looked over and saw Sam, Fred and the princes standing by the open door. Ignoring the strange orange glow coming from beyond the doorway, Joe ran towards it seeing Fina fly towards it as a bird out of the corner of his eye.

"Get back here Warp Wizard!" San-Li yelled charging towards them.

Fred slammed the door shut just as Joe and Fina burst through it. San-Li hit the door less than a second later. They heard her enraged scream, a loud thud, and the tip of her sword stuck through the door.

"Oh man," Joe panted. "Fina, you saved my life. You were amazing."

He wrapped his arms gratefully around her shoulders and she stiffened.

"I-I-it was m-my duty, Joe." She said blushing.

Suddenly there was a loud explosion and dirt particles rained down on them. Joe looked around and noticed the flames and smoke swirling around them. There were several more explosions and gunshots and Fred narrowly avoided an arrow.

"Oh, no..." Joe whispered.

He had just realized they had escaped one psychopath and ended up in the middle of a battle.


	8. Chapter 8

The night was lit red and orange by fire and the air was heavy with smoke. Everywhere around them people were screaming in either pain or terror and there was the clash of sword against sword and cannon fire.

"What's going on?" Fred yelled choking on acid smoke.

"It must be the Battle of Bosworth," Sam yelled back. "But that's supposed to happen miles from here!"

They ducked as another cannon whizzed overhead and more debris rained down on them. Prince Edward's younger brother was almost hit by a fallen chunk of stone if it wasn't for his older brother pulling him out of the way. Joe watched them and felt a small pang of guilt. Edward was right around his age when the showdown took place and Anna was only a little younger than Richard. If only Joe had done a better job of protecting Anna like Edward protected Richard, then maybe she wouldn't have nearly been killed by Joe's own stupid pen sword. And maybe if Uncle Joe had actually bothered to _train _them instead of just taking off on them all the time...

"Joe!" Sam yelled shaking Joe's shoulder roughly. "Come on, we have to get out of here before we get killed!"

Breaking out of his thoughts, Joe looked up and noticed that Fina had transformed into a horse and Fred was helping the princes climb on top of her. Sam grabbed his arm and they ran towards Fina. It was a tight fit and they ended up practically in each others' lap but once they were on Fina took off at a gallop towards the river. Once Fina stopped the noise of the battle had turned into a distant rumble and a glowing orange dot on the horizon.

Everyone slid off and Fina transformed back into her human form, and nearly doubled over from exertion. Joe shivered as a he was hit with a sudden chill as a mist started to rise out of the river from seemingly nowhere.

Joe, Fred, and Sam huddled around Fina feeling completely creeped out, but Edward and Richard looked around expectantly.

"Mother?" Richard called out softly. "It that you? Are you here?"

There was nothing but silence except for what Joe thought was a slight whistling noise. The wind blew and then there was the sound of soft footsteps. He turned and saw four figures walking toward them in the gloom.

"Um guys..." Joe whispered under his breath.

When the figures got closer though he could see that it was just Queen Elizabeth with who Joe guessed to be her daughters.

"Mother!" Both Edward and Richard ran to her with their arms outstretched.

"My sons!" Queen Elizabeth dropped down to her knees and embraced them.

After hugging and kissing both of her sons the queen looked up at Joe with tears still streaming down her face.

"Thank you, Joseph." She said smiling. "I am utterly grateful to you for returning my sons to me safely."

Taking a cue from Fina, he bowed to the queen and said, "You're very welcome your highness."

"You know," Fred said with that familiar greedy glint in his eyes. "If you really want to thank us and have any extra jewelry laying around- ow!"

Sam and Fina both elbowed Fred at the same time, effectively shutting him up. Joe was afraid that the queen would be offended but she only looked amused.

"Strangely enough you were not the first to offer this proposition to me," She said with a small chuckle. "But that is not important. Before the dust of the battle settles I must get myself and my children to safety and live the rest of our lives in the country where the shadow of throne will not fall on us."

With that she gave another nod of thanks, grabbed her sons by the hands and left with her children.

"Great." Sam sighed in relief. "The princes are safe, we got rid of that psycho, now let's use The Book and get back home."

"Right." Joe nodded and then realized that something was missing. "Um..."

Sam's smile faltered and his eye started to twitch. "Joe, please don't tell me that you dropped The Book. That you actually freakin' dropped it!? In the middle of a battlefield maybe!?"

Sam voice had risen to a frantic screech but Fred just scoffed and wrapped an arm around Fina's shoulders.

"Sam just chill," he said with a grin. "We got our girl Fina with us. She'll just call it up for us and we'll be home in no time."

"Pfft." Sam rolled his eyes and and mumbled, "Yeah but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't keep track of it."

Joe caught Fina looking at him as if waiting for his okay. He shrugged his shoulders and nodded and, taking a step away from Fred, opened her arms up to call up The Book. No one noticed that rippling shadow had appeared behind her until San-Li appeared with it.

**A/N- Gasp! Is San-Li going to hurt Fina? **

**I was going to make this one big chapter but decided to break it up into 2 smaller ones. I also took some liberties with some of the historical facts. The battle of Bosworth actually did happen miles and miles away from the Tower of London and there's no concrete evidence that either Richard III tried to have the princes killed. There were however rumors that Queen Elizabeth and her mother were descendants of a river goddess and had magic powers**


	9. Chapter 9

Before anyone could move or warn her San-Li grabbed Fina from behind and held her sword under her chin. Although his heart raced in fear Joe's first thought was that at any moment Fina would transform into something small and fly or scurry safely to them. But then he remembered. She had just called The Book which she herself said used up a lot of her energy. The last time she did it she had fainted and looking at her now Joe could see Fina fighting to remain upright. Her knees were shaking and her eyes struggled to stay focused on his.

When he saw San-Li smirk though, Joe suddenly felt his fear turn into anger. Furious anger. He clenched his fist until he could feel his own nails digging into his palm and glared at San-Li.

"Let Fina go." He said through clenched teeth taking a half step forward.

"Uh, uh, uh..." San-Li said taking a step back as well. "Don't try anything stupid Joe unless you want me to cut into your sweetheart's pretty little neck."

Joe's felt himself start to shake with rage, but he signaled Fred and Sam to stay back.

"Now," San-Li continued. "Fina dear, if you don't mind giving me that book you're holding I'll let you get back to your boyfriend and I'll be on my way."

Fina looked back at San-Li and gave her a weak smile. "No. I only serve Joe."

She threw The Book towards them and Fred caught it. San-Li pushed her away and ran towards Fred, growling angrily while Joe ran towards Fina.

Fred ran for a while but yelled out to Sam when San-Li was hot on his heals. "Sam!"

Fred tossed him The Book, he caught it, and looked panicked when he saw San-Li turn towards him. "Joe!"

Joe moved away from a weak Fina to try and catch it, but Sam's throw had went wild and sailed away from him. San-Li grinned triumphantly and transported herself so that she was standing under where it would land.

"No!" Joe yelled and thrust his hand forward.

A green blast of energy shot out from his outstretched and he, Fred, and Sam watched in stunned silence as the blast knocked San-Li away and The Book landed on the ground away from her.

"Whoa," Joe heard Fred gasp. "I didn't know Joe could do that."

They watched as San-Li slowly struggle to stand up and hold her hip with a pained expression on her face. When she turned towards them however, all they saw was pure hatred in her eyes.

"Joe!" Sam yelled. "Get The Book! Hurry!"

Joe broke out of his stupor and ran towards it where it lay on the ground. Before he reached it however, he felt a ripple of cold air wash over him.

"JOE WATCH OUT!" Fina screamed.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as a shadow appeared barely a few feet in front of him and San-Li appeared with her sword drawn, running towards him, ready to plow through him. Joe tried to stop but found that the momentum was too much, San-Li was too fast, and he was going to run right into her. The next thing he knew though, there was a flurry of white feathers, he felt himself being pushed onto the ground, and Fina stood in front of him with her arms outstretched.

San-Li's eyes widened in surprise and everyone watched in horror as the sword ran right through Fina's chest. San-Li let go of the sword and took a step back, her eyes wide in terror as a red flower of blood bloomed on Fina's dress where the sword pierced her body.

Sam screamed and Fred began dry heaving. Joe could only stare silently as Fina toppled to the ground and lay there unmoving. He crawled over towards her and cradled her head in his lap. A sob choked Joe's throat and a tear traced a path down his face and dripped onto Fina's closed eye lids. He looked up and saw that San-Li was watching them, her eyes now grown cold and walked towards The Book still laying on the ground.

"Stupid girl," he heard her mumble. "Why didn't she just stay out of it?"

"You witch." He whispered.

Joe stood up shaking with rage as his fist burned and everything started to turn green. He ran forward and felt some unknown energy propel him forward faster than he would have thought he would be able to move. San-Li barely had time to turn towards him before his fist, glowing bright green, connected with her jaw and sent her flying. Joe was on her again before she landed and kicked her in the side with another blast of energy powering the kick. She cried out in pain and hit a tree making it crack nearly in half.

Joe wanted to do more but quickly felt the magic energy drain out of his body and the green glow disappeared altogether. He walked over and leaned down to pick up The Book when he heard a very faint voice in his head.

_ J-Joe? _

His head snapped up and he looked towards Fina where she lay on the ground, Fred and Sam hovered over her. Forgetting about The Book he took a few steps towards her, but felt that familiar ripple of cold air behind him. He spun around and saw San-Li, holding her side and with a big purple-blue bruise on her jaw, bend down and pick up The Book.

"F-foolish b-b-boy." She mumbled shakily holding it up.

Suddenly, The Book crackled to life and a blast of green electricity shot out from where she touched it. San-Li screamed out in pain, let go of it, and The Book sailed through the air and landed safely in Joe's hands.

"What the hell!?" San-Li yelled angrily. "The old warp wizard is gone, why is the ban still on it!?"

There was a soft giggling and Joe spun around.

"Fina?" Joe whispered hopefully.

Fred and Sam stared in horror and took a step back as Fina stood up slowly and pulled the sword from her chest. Although the sword was dripping in blood, her dress was clean.

"H-how," Sam asked. "We all saw you get stabbed through the chest. How are you alive?"

"I serve the warp wizard," Fina smiled. "Eternally and throughout all time. Not even death will stop me from serving him."

San-Li stumbled towards Joe, limping heavily.

"Remove the ban," She growled through clenched teeth. "Now."

"He can't," Fina said smugly stepping next to Joe. "He doesn't know how. And don't even think about trying to threaten him, because that won't work either."

For a moment they could see unbridled rage flair up in San-Li's eyes, but then it was replaced with a cold and chilling calculation. She smiled slowing and then reached into her pocket for something that Joe thought he would never see again; Mad Jack's pocket watch.

"Don't think this means you're done with me, Joesph." She said seductively. "I'll figure out a way to get to you. This isn't the last you'll see of me."

She then winked at him, pressed something on the watched, and was swallowed up by a ticking yellow blast of light. Everyone stood still for a moment and Fina swayed against Joe's arm.

"Fina!" Joe cried out in a panic wrapping an arm around her waist to support her.

"I'm fine," She said smiling softly. "Just sleepy. Can you warp us out okay?"

"Yeah," Joe whispered tears of relief filling his eyes. "Let's go home. All of us."

Fred and Sam cheered happily as Joe opened The Book with one hand and for the first time ever, warped them home smoothly.

**A/N- One more chapter left! Tell me what you think and what you want to see. After I finish this story I'm gonna post a little one shot that my buddy A.I.T challenged me to write with an unusual pairing. Also, my last semester at college has officially begun so my updates might be less frequent as my homework begins to grow, but I'll keep writing and posting :)**


	10. Epilouge

Joe closed his biology book with a weary sigh and put his homework binder away. He gingerly touched the spot on his neck where San-Li had cut him but it had long since healed thanks to Fina. Literally. She had laid her hand against his cut and healed it. It had been nearly a week since they had returned home and yet he still couldn't believe she was here to, um, serve him?

He stepped away from his desk and saw her curled up on his bed in her cat form, fast asleep. She didn't seem to have anywhere else to go so Joe had let her stay at his house as long as she stayed in her cat form around his parents. Trying to stay as quiet as possible he sat down on the bed next to her and gently rubbed her fur. She stirred but then settle back into easy slumber. Joe smiled and headed to Anna's room to check on her.

He opened the door quietly so he wouldn't wake her and noticed the open window. He frowned in confusion. He hoped she hadn't forgotten to close it; it was still pretty damp outside and he would hate for her to get sick. He stepped into the room to close it and noticed the dark figure sitting on the bed.

"Mom?" He whispered.

"Wrong answer." A soft voice teased.

Joe felt his heart jump into his throat and he switched on the light. Sitting right there, caressing his little sister's forehead while she slept, was San-Li. Joe clenched his fist and took a step forward, ready to beat the crap out of her again.

"Uh, uh, uh," San-Li whispered and held something up that made him freeze in his tracks.

In her other hand she held a short, dark steel dagger and gently traced it along Anna's scar. She smiled up at Joe and he could still see the bruise he gave her along the jaw.

"San-Li..." He said through clenched teeth and felt his fist start to grow hot with magic.

"Shhh," She shushed him softly. "You wouldn't want my hand to slip and reopen this little scar do you?"

Joe pressed his lips together and let his fist drop.

"That's better," She smiled and moved her dagger away. "I would hate to get her blood on one of my favorite daggers. It's a 17th century European parrying dagger you know."

"What do you want?" Joe asked desperately. "I'm still not the warp wizard so I don't know how to remove the ban from The Book."

"I know," San-Li shrugged nonchalantly. "But eventually you will."

Joe frowned. "What makes you think that?"

San-Li stood up and slowly sauntered up to him. Joe swallowed with a different kind of nervousness and noticed that she was wearing more modern clothing; skin tight, low cut jeans, a tight cropped t shirt, and that large red jewel in her naval. She grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him down so her lips barely brushed against his ear.

"I have my ways of persuading people, Joseph." She whispered. "So just know that I'll be around."

With that she threw him to the ground and disappeared in a ripple of dark air. Joe sat on the floor trying to regain his breath and get his heart to stop racing. He then heard Anna sniffling and leaped up to go to her. Anna's eyes were wide in terror and she looked pale.

"Are you okay?" he asked urgently. "Did she hurt you?"

"N-n-no," Anna did her best to smile at him. "I-I'm okay. Who the heck was she?"

Joe wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tried to rub them soothingly. "Don't worry about it. She's just... someone I have to take care of that's all. Try to go back to sleep okay?"

"Okay." Anna nodded and lay back down.

Joe made sure that her window was locked and all but ran back to his room. He gently shook Fina awake and waited for her to change back into her human form. She smiled and blinked at him sleepily.

"Yes Joe? How may I assist you?" She asked.

"San-Li found us." Joe said. "And I need you to help me stop her."

"What can I do?" Fina asked.

Joe took a deep breath and looked into her piercing blue eyes. "I need you to help me become Warp Wizard so I can stop San-Li once and for all."

**A/N- And with that the first of hopefully many stories in my new time warp trio series. So far I have two more stories on deck; A.I.T's oneshot challenge and see what happens when Fred and Sam accidentally warp themselves somewhere really dangerous. Review please! **


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